7.06.2012

Night of the Living Dead

One week into parenthood and I feel like I walked right out of the movie “Night of the Living Dead.” But this adorable little face makes waking up at night so much more pleasant. I like to think of every night as a slumber party … for just Winter and I .. but without the popcorn or movies unfortunately.

Being a parent is a ton of work. But it is all totally worth it. I’m kind of a zombie and I’m a bit overwhelmed at times but we are so happy to have Winter as a part of our family. She honestly brings a different kind of spirit into our home.

Mitchell and I probably say, “Winter is so cute” 20 billion times a day. She really is SOOOO cute. Her cheeks make me so incredibly happy.

I love singing primary songs to her in the middle of the night and cry almost every time I do it. I swear tear ducts triple in size when you become a mother.

People have their definite opinions about who Winter looks like. I just think she looks like a baby. I’m sure when she gets a little older her characteristics will pop and I might have an actual opinion on this matter.

We have had quite a few adventures involving explosive poop. Poop on my clothes. Poop on her clothes. Poop on the carpet. Poop on my phone. Its everywhere. Dang that poop.

Breastfeeding has not come easy. Everyone makes it seem so easy and natural. Pu-lease. Winter and I still haven’t gotten the hang of it YET (I’m not throwing in the towel) … so I have been pumping like a mad woman trying to make sure she is getting enough to eat. Cows and I have now have more in common than I would like to admit.

Mitchell and I attempted to take some semi decent photos of Winter the other day. I salute all baby photographers. It is tough work. I have no idea how they get babies to do some of the crazy insane poses that I sometimes see. So ours are pretty simple as you can see ….

Poor little Winter had to have her Bilirubin number tested … not only once, but twice this week. But we are glad to say that her results were low, so Jaundice is no longer a major concern.

Nothing is cuter than a sleeping baby. Nothing.

Mitchell and I have tested out several different swaddling methods … and this one that Ashley (Fillmore) showed us through Face Time is the best one. Thanks Ashley, we owe you one. I am wishing that I would have practiced more origami or had worked at Taco Bell wrapping burritos …those skills would have come in very handy right about now.

5 comments:

Hang in there, Mama! For the first week or so we were so tired that we both (independently, on different nights) hallucinated that people were ringing our doorbell at 3 a.m. For the first six weeks or so, I didn't have a single dream that didn't involve feeding the baby. In my dream, I would feed him, change his diaper, feed him some more (our pattern since he was a lazy sleepy eater), and I'd be almost done when real-life Lincoln would wake me up, and I'd be so frustrated, because I was at the very beginning of the process instead of at the end, like I had thought. We also had a rough time with nursing - and I can sympathize about pumping - it just adds to the exhaustion! It took us a full two months to transition from bottles with formula (doctor's orders - pft!) and pumping around the clock, to bottles with breastmilk, to nursing with a nipple shield, to just regular old nursing with no special equipment. It was rough. When I had finally gotten to that point, a friend said, "I'm so proud of you for not giving up!" and I thought, "Hmm... if it had occurred to me that giving up was an option, maybe I would have!" In the end, nursing turned out to be something I really enjoyed, so I was glad I had persevered, but I completely understand the choice to formula feed, and I'm sure that can be very enjoyable too! Wow - long comment! Just wanted to let you know you're not in this alone! :)